They say a break is as good as a holiday - but I really think I would rather just settle for the holiday.

I was having such a great day - full of energy, doing 6 things at once.  Unfortunately one of those things was washing the floor, only I forgot it was still wet.  Down I went - sliding across the tiles, hit the wall and fell back on top of my polio leg.  I knew I’d twisted my knee badly and so I rolled over to straighten my leg and started rubbing my knee praying it would be alright.  I do remember a funny feeling washing over my body at that point but there was no pain and I was more worried about being able to get up off the floor.  So I scooted across the floor on my behind, to the couch where I’d left the cordless phone and rang my Mum to come and help me.  Luckily Mum lives next door and was there in a minute.  She must have thought I looked awful because she rang for an ambulance straight away.
 

The ambulance arrived within 10 minutes and took me off to RPH.  I had visions of being left in a corridor for days but luckily I was seen straight away.  I felt such a fraud taking up their valuable time with a twisted knee.  It did hurt a bit when they transferred me onto the X-ray table but mostly I was pretty cheerful and joking with the orderly.  After the X-rays as he was wheeling me back he whispered “I’m not supposed to say - but your leg is broken”.

It was only at that point that I started to get worried - mostly because I had a trip to Singapore booked in a couple of weeks and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go if my leg was in plaster.  Then the doctor came along and said “You have a fractured femur and we need to operate”.  With visions of super bugs and polio anaesthetic complications I fearfully asked couldn’t I just have the bone set and put in plaster?   The scathing response was - “We haven’t done it that way for years.  We’ll put a little plate over the bone to make it stronger.”  So eventually I gave in and they admitted me to hospital.

The last thing Mum had said before the ambulance came was “Don’t tell them you have Private Health cover”.  Of course I was so distracted when they admitted me I said yes and then said “Oh no this will cost me a fortune”.  But they have this new system where they claim what they can from the Private Health Fund and absorb the rest. (and they also give you free TV, a book of vouchers and other goodies).

So now when they transferred me into the bed I almost cried out in pain because now I knew I had a broken leg!!  While I was waiting I tried to remember everything Tessa has said about surgery but it all got too hard.
I knew the Office phone number  but this was Friday night.  Why didn’t I keep Tessa’s home phone number in my purse!

I had my operation the next morning and when I woke up the first thing I thought was “I’m alive” and then I looked down at my leg and thought how straight and warm it was, all wrapped up in a bright red full leg brace.  At this point I was feeling no pain thanks to the painkilling drugs.

When Mum came in to visit, the first thing I said was -
“I need my Carnitine and Magnesium!” - but she was one step ahead of me and had brought them in.

One thing I noticed was that in hospital, I changed from a 50-year old woman into a 6-year old child again, grateful that the nurses were looking after me. (Not like some of the younger patients I saw, who abused the nurses and complained all the time).
 

After a few days someone came from orthotics and fitted me with a new brace with an adjustable knee hinge and I started thinking about how to get out of hospital. The first nurse said something vague about going to the Shenton Park Annex.  The next person I asked was a physio visiting another patient and he said “If you can walk on crutches you can go”.  So I talked him into getting me a pair of crutches and within minutes I was out the door.  Thank goodness!  Not that my stay in RPH wasn’t excellent and all the nurses were great - but there’s no place like home. I came home on the coldest July day this winter and set myself up on the couch with the heater going full blast and Mum waiting on me hand and foot, for which I am eternally grateful.

Being stuck at home brought a whole new raft of problems.  This first thing was visitors - as a person who doesn’t like people coming to my house, I had to “suck it up” as they say now, and leave my back door unlocked so anyone could come in, make me a cup of tea, drop off home-made soup and try to cheer me up. And they did - I do have some wonderful friends.

The next thing was that a blister formed under my brace and I was worried about it getting infected.  I rang my GP - but they don’t do house calls and I didn’t want to go and sit for hours in the waiting room. Luckily my GP rang the Silver Chain for me (you do need a referral) and the nurse came and took care of it.  It was too much to ask Mum to do my cleaning, a task I had been struggling to do before my fall so I rang the local Senior Citizens HACC (Home and Community Care).
I asked if I could have a cleaner. They said “No, not for a broken leg, it has to be a permanent disability” Hooray - of course I had that anyway - a wonky polio foot and I use one crutch.  So I now have a cleaner and a gardener permanently!
 

Another thing was shopping and feeding myself.  At first Mum was bringing me meals, then as I was able to stand, I was doing a bit of cooking - but I couldn’t carry anything with my crutches. Shopping was totally out of the question.  Then I remembered that some  Dewsons supermarkets do home deliveries.  So I went onto the internet and ordered some food.  The next morning a lovely man brought it in and put it on the kitchen table for me.  How fantastic - I will get all the heavy stuff delivered in the future. In my optimism I thought I’d be going to physio soon and driving my car as soon as I could bend my knee enough to get it in the car.  My leg was feeling pretty good - as I’d rung Tessa straight away and she had me taking extra magnesium, manganese and boron for fractures.

When I went for my checkup at the outpatients clinic, I came down to earth with a thud, when the doctor said it would be months before I could walk or bend my knee.  No way - I had places to go and things to do. So he showed me the X-ray of my leg and I almost fell off the chair.  The ‘little’ plate went from my knee all the way up to the top of my leg and had about 16 screws into the bone - or what was left of it.  It had twisted and snapped and there was a gaping hole where they had put it back together. Until the bone grows back over the gap I have to keep it straight and stay off it.  I didn’t cry when I broke it - but I sure did that day.

Just before that Tessa had rung to say - when was I coming back in to work.  (I had thought I was in for a six month holiday) but the End of Financial Year stuff for the Auditor and the GST BAS statements had to be done - so Tessa came out and put me into the back of her station wagon (no just on the back seat with my leg stretched full length!).  The first day back I only lasted a few hours but it was great to get out of the house and use a few brain cells for a change.
So here we are four and a half months later and I can now bend my knee enough to sit on a chair and drive my car. I can put 50% of my weight on that leg and am trying to remember how to walk again.  Thank goodness I’ll soon be able to see Jega again at the Late Effects Clinic at Shenton Park.  What would we do without her - at least there is someone now, who knows about post polio.

  Lessons I have learned - the hard way:
    * As soon as you see any water/liquid/even food on the floor - mop it up.
    * Have your papers on surgery, etc in a handy place so you or someone can get them before your operation (or all of Tessa’s phone numbers)
    * Have a list of people to contact to feed your dog, lock up your house, etc .
 

  Problems I haven’t quite solved yet:
    * Even though I had a cordless phone I didn’t have it with me.  If you are worried about falling over maybe you should carry your phone in your pocket or hang it around your neck. Maybe get a small mobile phone instead.
    * If you are inside your locked house by yourself how would the ambulance people get in to help?  Do we need to leave a key out?
    * The other thing is getting a stretcher in.  My front and back doors both had problems but luckily the doors to my family room had a clear path.
    * I slipped on wet tiles.  I am now paranoid about wet floors especially in the bathroom.  I am thinking about getting indoor/outdoor carpet put over the tiles.  It might not last forever or look strange but it’s better than loose mats. And I know there are other products that you can paint on to make tiles non-slip - I just have to find them!

 Debbie.